Day 14
Mulder had feared it would take a week to get the results but he was back in the lab less than a day later, his interest palpable. Mulder drummed his fingers on the counter as he waited for the medical examiner. He felt so desolate and alone in that moment even with the arrival of Kennison.
"Sorry gentlemen, got held up in another autopsy." The medical examiner said breathlessly. He pulled a report from his desk and turned to the men. "You know Assistant Director Skinner is quite a force to be reckoned with – he got me two additional doctors down here this morning." Mulder nodded agreeably.
"I'll give him your thanks Doctor." He said as he took the report, superseding his colleague beside him.
"The finger does belong to the girl – that's the first good thing." The man told them as Mulder's eyes ran the length of the report.
"Okay, did you manage to get a hit on CODIS?" Kennison asked. Ordinarily it wouldn't be down to the ME so something told Mulder this guy had little experience with autopsies and medical examiners. None the less, given Skinner's ability get him extra bodies the doctor had gone above and beyond on this case. The news was negative however and Mulder sighed. He shared a glance with Kennison,, unsurprised to see the disappointment mirrored on the younger man's face. Kennison's disappointment however was borne out of professional anguish for not having caught the killer yet. Mulder's however came from a deep seeded place where his rational mind gave way to a fear he may not find Scully alive.
"There was however, this-" The doctor was saying and he dropped a small evidence bag with what appeared to be 3 molar teeth stuck on a metal frame, onto the counter. "This is not some two thousand-dollar bridgework here but this is not back street standard either. There's a serial number on them. That should go a long way to identifying this poor girl."
Mulder felt a surge of hope and lifted the bag to his eyes. Sure enough he could see the tiny serial number printed on the inside of the bridge. He handed it wordlessly to Kennison who examined it in much the same way.
"Other than that, cause of death I think is fairly evident. I see no signs of any drugs but have sent a full tox-screen for analysis. There was nothing remarkable about her clothes only that it looks like she had been in captivity for some time. She was only slightly malnourished and showing the first signs for dehydration so I would hazard a guess that she has probably been held for about a month, probably less but certainly no more than that. I did notice some action on her ribs which indicates the weapon of choice – in my opinion a serrated edged knife, probably a hunting knife – got stuck on the ribs at some point during either the killing or the disemboweling and it looks like he used quite some force to get it free because she had a broken rib. I made an impression for you to compare and judging from the direction of the wounds I'd say it's highly likely your killer is left handed. Sorry I can't give you more than that but get that serial number in the database and you should be one step closer to finding your missing agent."
"Could a woman do this?" Mulder suddenly asked, much to the surprise of his colleague. The doctor however didn't seem surprised, instead he considered his answer.
"I haven't seen this kind of brutality in a while, gentlemen – unless this woman was some kind of freak of nature I would say it was impossible for her to inflict this kind of damage. I would say you are definitely looking for a man."
It was helpful, and more importantly it was a lead but Mulder struggled to find any excitement in the chase – not this time and he simply thanked the doctor demurely and turned to his colleague.
"Get that down to the computer lab, see if we can identify this girl and find out why she was killed." He told him as the pair walked down the corridor. Kennison looked at him surprised.
"Why where are you going?" He blurted when Mulder abruptly turned and started walking down a different corridor.
"To see Graham!" he called behind him without waiting for a response. Kennison watched him go, wondering whether he should stop him or follow. He did neither and before midday Mulder was waving his badge to the hospital security like it was a key to the whole damn facility. It did however work and after signing himself in, and enduring a droning 'chat' with the administrator Dr Franklin, he found himself sat on a cold metal chair in a dark room with an identical chair on the other side of a metal table with a cast iron loop in the middle towards the other chair. A small barred window high up on the wall provided the smallest amount of natural light. It did not however have much impact against the weak incandescent glow from the lighting above that flickered every few minutes. Mulder had quickly developed a headache and looked at his watch for the millionth time; he had been waiting for half an hour already and he had to wait another 20 minutes before the door opened and a scarred, gnarled man shuffled in followed by a guard who handcuffed the greying man to the loop on the table before leaving. Had he not reread the case details recently Mulder doubted he would even recognize the man who looked much older than he though he knew they were about the same age. Nonetheless the man looked at Mulder with startling and aggressive recognition. It was so cold that Mulder stiffened in his chair slightly.
"Agent Mulder," The man said with a drawling sneer. Mulder regarded him quietly for a moment, more to allow himself the chance to cool his anger than anything else.
"Graham," He finally said after a few controlled moments.
"What can I do for you?" The prisoner said picking invisible lint from his bright white jumpsuit with his cuffed hands.
"I think you know why I'm here so let's just cut the bullshit and you won't be prosecuted for kidnap, extortion, blackmail and accessory to murder. I'll make you won't get off with this act again!" Mulder threatened in a dangerous voice. Even to his ears however, it sounded weak. It was hard to wound a man who had nothing left to lose; Mulder himself had realized that in himself many times before. Apparently Graham knew it too for he sat back and laughed mirthlessly once then fixed his dead gaze on Mulder again.
"Uh huh." He said calmly, no flicker of pain or anger which only fueled Mulder's anger hough he worked tirelessly to hide it. "What is it I'm supposed to have done Mr Mulder?" Arrogance and vicious innocence oozed from every pore.
"A former agent has been kidnapped and is being held by some sick bastard acting on your behalf. This man is a murderer. You are so damaged by the fact that my profile put you in here and you've taken it upon yourself to have a woman abducted, a very respected doctor who means more to me than you've ever meant to anyone, subjected her to God knows what and this man, this psychopath who's taken her has killed at least one other woman so you bet I'm going to make damn sure that the law comes down on you like a ton of bricks! When I'm finished you won't even have a toilet to shit in. I promise you that." Mulder's anger rose with each word and so did his voice until he was thrusting an angry finger across the table. It never occurred to the orderly standing just outside the door to step in.
"That's quite an theory you have there Fox but how exactly do you propose I orchestrated such an elaborate scheme? I am you see, in chains." Will Graham smiled sardonically and pulled on the chain to prove his point.
"You know full well! You found someone on the outside who could pull off this bullshit for you! If you tell me your accomplice then all this can go away." Mulder snapped and Graham knew full well he was agitated and that apparently pleased him. He started laughing, jovially at first as if the two were sharing a pleasant chat but he didn't stop as his voice became higher and more erratic until Mulder couldn't bare to hear the sound any longer.
"You're right, you don't know anything and you're just a sad and pathetic man who's wasting my time." Mulder said with angry resignation and sat back passively. After a long moment Mulder shook his head then got up. Graham didn't speak until Mulder's hand had enclosed around the metallic doorknob.
"You're the reason I'm here you know." Even when accusatory his voice was devoid of emotion.
"You put yourself here you son of a bitch." Mulder growled without turning around. He had had enough and was about ready to draw this wild goose chase to an end.
"You get me day release and I'll tell you where Dr Scully is." The words fell from the man's cracked mouth with little emotion but from the moment they were in the air Mulder felt his heart hammer in his chest.
"What?" He barely managed, his attention well and truly grabbed.
The prisoner-patient shook his head side to side. "Get me day release and I'll tell you where she is." Graham grinned and Mulder felt a sickening urge to punch the man. Instead he took deep breath and forced himself to leave, compelled his mind to keep a rational train of thought as he raced back through security. He pulled out his phone and his finger was poised to press 'dial' when it started ringing in his hand. With a start he almost dropped the phone but recovered coolly in time to answer it.
"Mulder," he greeted calmly despite the growing fire inside him.
"Agent Mulder, we've identified the girl – Lucy Spreichenberg." The name was uttered with particular emphasis but Mulder drew a blank and said as much, warranting a lengthy explanation from his new colleague. "Lucy Spreichenberg's brother Gerald Spreichenberg was a small time drug dealer mainly working out of his home district in Bensley but he got caught up in some heavy shit, got addicted to his own product and ended up raping 3 young coeds from Virginia State. He managed to use his addiction to drugs to get locked up at Baltimore State Mental Hospital for the Criminally Insane instead of jail and one of the girls killed herself when she heard."
"Wait Baltimore State?" Mulder blurted before adding without much thought for the consequences, "That's where I am!"
"What do you mean? Why are you there Mulder?" Roberts demanded and he deliberated his answer slowly.
"Listen to me Roberts, Will Graham has something to do with Scully's disappearance, he told me if I can get him a day release he'll tell me where she is." Mulder finally said awaiting the onslaught of anger and disappointment.
"Mulder! You were told not to go and see him! Assistant Directors Skinner and Grimes specifically forbade it. You're going to get your ass chewed out and mine for letting you get away with it!" Roberts snapped and Mulder rolled his eyes and growled.
"Forget that! Get down here, so we can see this Spreichenberg guy." Mulder said in a no-nonsense attitude and Roberts sighed before agreeing on a meeting place and a time before hanging up. Mulder sighed when he hung up, feeling frustrated at having his leash tugged on. It was something that Scully had done many times but if felt different now. Scully had always been his centre, kept him on an even keel and it had felt natural; it fueled their friendship and later their love for a very long time but with Roberts it felt sharp, jarring and was often unwelcome. He slid back into his car seat leaving the door open for the Virginian air to permeate his cloudy mind and he sat for a long while waiting. He closed his eyes for a minute but when he saw her face swimming in front of him turn to a murder scene he snapped them back open again. Eventually he looked at his watch and got out the car pulling his badge back out as he approached the security desk again with a false smile.
Roberts discovered first hand when he arrived at the hospital that Mulder really did not play by the book; he had disregarded the rules every chance he got but none more than when his friend was in danger. He huffed to himself when he discovered from one of the orderlies that Mulder was already in with the suspect but when he pushed open the door into the visitation room Mulder was in fact just sat opposite the rough looking man in total silence. The patient however was twitchy and restless. Mulder wordlessly and calmly looked at his partner. Roberts sighed and slid casually into the cold hard chair next to him turning to face Gerald with a steely gaze.
"Listen guys… I had no idea that guy was planning that I swear! I liked Doctor Bloom I didn't want her to get hurt." The man ranted, his mind obviously damaged from past drug abuse but clouded by current medication. Roberts looked confused at Mulder.
"What's he talking about?" He asked and Mulder unfolded his arms.
"One of the patients attacked Doctor Bloom, a psychiatrist, the other night in the recreation room, ripped her nose clean off with his teeth." He explained before turning his own attentions to the patient, ignoring the horrified look on his partner's face.
"You guys aren't here about Dr Bloom?" The man asked sheepishly and both agents shook their heads.
"No Mr Spreichenberg we're here because your sister is dead, murdered in fact." Roberts said sharply and Mulder winced somewhat; he would have announced it a little less harshly. He watched the damaged man's face as he first stared ahead in a mixture of anger and sadness before turning his head away muttering 'son of a bitch!' under his breath.
The agents waited a respectful moment before proceeding. "Do you know why anyone would want to hurt your sister?" Roberts asked and Mulder felt the familiar gnawing of impatience at the pit of his stomach.
Gerald looked away for a moment then looked dead at them, eyes red rimmed.
"No, she was liked by everyone." He said with a hard tone. Mulder noted that; a lie. He frowned then sighed.
"Gerald, don't lie to us, we know someone was using your sister to get to you and now she's dead. This person murdered her and now this same person has a friend of mine and I would very much like to see her again." He finally said, his passion bleeding through his words. Roberts puffed up slightly; he did not like Mulder divulging personal or emotional sob stories to get what he wanted. Gerald shifted in his seat.
"Look man," He started with a mirthless laugh as he leaned forward, eyes misty from a combination of tears and anti-psychotic medication. "I'm not a good person, I did some shitty things. I was in a bad place and Lucy didn't speak to me. God told me to attack those girls – I had to do what he said and that was five years ago. I hate myself for it every day even though I know I was sick." He paused, looking about ready to launch a rant but took a deep breath instead. "About 3 weeks ago, out the blue I get this letter with some hairs in and a charm bracelet that belonged to my sister. This letter told me to repent for my sins. I figured it was Lucy's weird idea of a joke, trying to get me to feel guilty or something. Then I started getting calls from this guy who called himself the contractor. He said he had my sister and that I had 3 weeks to reform myself. I asked just how the hell I was supposed to do that when I'm in here but he never answered. Three days ago I get a letter saying I had to sacrifice myself to save her. I figured this guy was yanking my chain, that he wouldn't know if I did or didn't sacrifice myself so I ignored it until today. I can't believe he killed her." He trailed off, looking down at his chain wrists on the table.
"You're telling me that the orderlies and doctors don't read your mail or monitor your calls?" Roberts asked disbelieving but Gerald shrugged. Mulder scoffed to himself as he cast his gaze around the room; it was on a different floor to the one he was in earlier but it looked identical and just as cold. Acrossfrom him this man sat trying to force tears over his dead sister. He felt a distinct disdain for him.
"You didn't believe your sister was in any danger?" Roberts continued, sensing the tension from his colleague. Gerald stopped weeping and looked up.
"She sounded fine when I spoke to her a few weeks ago, so I presumed it was a prank." He said simply, trying to shake off the memory.
"You spoke to her?" Mulder blurted and Gerald looked confused.
"Yeah when this guy first contacted me about 2 weeks ago to say he had her. He let me speak to her and she seemed pretty fine." He shrugged and Mulder fought hard not to remember how Scully had sounded when he had spoke to her.
"Okay did she say anything that might help us catch the guy who did this?" Roberts asked ignoring the seething hatred from besides him. Gerald appeared to be searching his mind.
"No I don't think so. She just asked how I was which I thought was a little odd considering she had never been to see me and she was the one who got kidnapped which is why I thought it was a joke or something." He said, adding a 'damn' under his breath. "I know who got this guy involved though."
At that Mulder looked up sharply. "Who?" He asked desperately.
"The mother of the girl I-err assaulted. The one who killed herself, it's gotta be." Gerald said with a cold edge and the agents thought about it separately for a minute; it made sense which meant that Graham could still be the guy behind Scully's abduction despite not having the literal freedom to do so. As he processed this thought Mulder thought about what Graham had said 'get me a day release and I'll tell you where she is'. He frowned as the words ran around his head again and again.
"Okay Gerald, thank you for your time, we'll be in touch if we need any more information." Roberts said abruptly standing and jarring Mulder from his thoughts. He signaled to the guard and Mulder reluctantly rose from his seat. "Our condolences for your loss." Roberts added as the pair walked from the room.
The two men walked silently through security, each wrapped up in their own individual trains of thought until they reached the hospitals gothic entrance and Roberts spoke finally, almost begrudgingly.
"So I'm going to get a beer and go home, tomorrow we'll find this woman and go talk to her, you wanna come for a beer?" He asked with a tired sigh. Mulder didn't respond right away; he appeared to be reconciling something in his head.
"Erm no, I need to speak to Skinner. I'll catch up with you later." He finally said hesitantly but declined to elaborate despite the intense questioning gaze his partner gave him.
-
Mulder sat outside the bureau headquarters for what felt like an age. He was anxious about the conversation he needed to have but he didn't fancy the commute back to Scully's apartment without asking. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel to a song only he could hear when he finally decided to get out and go in. Despite the late hour Skinner showed no sign of going home but Mulder was glad for the virtually empty building none the less.
"Skinner, Sir?" He asked tentatively as he interrupted the older man's note taking.
"Mulder." The bald man replied in a guarded tone which betrayed his surprise as seeing the younger man. "I specifically told you not to go and see Will Graham." He said after a long moment; it wasn't a rebuke – Skinner was beyond verbally battering his subordinate since he know it didn't work.
"I know, I know, but he knows where she is!" Mulder pleaded, skinner looked dubiously back behind his glasses but Mulder pressed on. "He said her name, he said he knew where she was." Skinner didn't, like some would, dismiss him out of hand; he had brought cases to conclusion on less. Instead he remained silent. "How could he have known her name? I didn't tell him and it hasn't been released in any papers yet." Skinner considered that.
"Okay, suppose he knows, what does he want?" He said and Mulder slumped into the chair in front of the desk without invitation.
"He wants a deal – he wants day releases." Now the words were out there he instantly wished they weren't.
"Mulder, no district attorney or director of the FBI is going to go for that! I wish I could change that, I really do but I can't; the man's an insane murderer." Skinner said regretfully and Mulder nodded like a child who had just found out his favorite dog had died.
"I know, I just thought I'd ask." He said looking down at his hands. "I just- I really want to find her."
Skinner could see the anger, the guilt, fear and love that clouded his mind and sat back with a heavy sigh. "What about a bluff?" He said finally, without hope. Mulder looked at his superior skeptically.
"What do you mean?" He said and Skinner thought hard for a moment.
"We get him a letter drafted up from the office saying he can have x amount of time in the public whatever." Skinner said holding his hands up. Mulder shook his head.
"He's too smart to fall for that." He said. Skinner remained silent then a dark shadow befell his face as he leant forward conspiratorially and began to speak.
"What if we were to get him outside in the open? I can get a letter drafted from the Director's office to ask that Graham be released with you and then you get the information you need, you put him back in." Skinner said and Mulder's jaw hung open slightly at the suggestion.
"Sir, I believe his intention for day release is to have opportunity to escape." He said and Skinner nodded.
"I would imagine so. It's your job to make sure he doesn't. If this doesn't work Agent Mulder, I don't need to remind you that I could lose my job." Skinner warned.
"And if it does?" Mulder responded. Skinner sat back.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I'll have the letter ready for you in the morning." An unspoken agreement passed between the two men, each nodding their approval before Mulder left the office and Skinner followed a mere hour later.